Senior Spotlight: Valley Oaks Valedictorian Warren Woolf Headed to Stanford

What happens if the most important decisions in human history are being made right now? That question has fascinated Warren Woolf, valedictorian of the Valley Oaks Charter School Class of 2026. His interest in the future of humanity, particularly the risks and opportunities created by artificial intelligence, has helped shape both his academic pursuits and long-term goals.

Warren has attended Valley Oaks Charter School since kindergarten, spending 12 years in the school’s unique independent study program. Students attend classes on campus while also taking responsibility for directing much of their own learning. The program’s flexibility allowed Warren to dive deeply into subjects that interested him most, teaching himself coding and learning about the building blocks of artificial intelligence. He was able to jump ahead a grade in middle school and was never confined to grade level coursework.

Academically, Warren ranks first in his graduating class across all Valley Oaks campuses with a weighted GPA above 4.0. He earned a 1540 on the SAT, placing him in the 99th percentile nationally, and was recognized as a Commended Student in the National Merit Scholarship Program. During high school, he completed numerous dual-enrollment courses through Cerro Coso Community College while also taking Advanced Placement coursework.

Science fairs have been a major part of Warren’s academic journey. Nearly every year since elementary school, he has designed and presented research projects exploring topics ranging from geology to machine learning. His projects have earned multiple awards at the Valley Oaks and Kern County Science Fairs, and he previously represented Kern County at the California State Science Fair with his work on convolutional neural networks.

His senior seminar project focuses on the subfield of machine learning called “machine unlearning,” which explores how AI systems can be trained to forget specific data or behaviors. The project reflects Warren’s interest in ensuring that powerful new technologies are developed responsibly and safely.

Programming is another area where Warren has excelled. He is a multi-year champion of the Kern Codes programming competition, earning first place several times in the high school Python division. He also enjoys contributing to open-source projects and building software tools, bots, and experimental programs in his spare time.

Warren’s interests extend beyond science and technology. He has received several Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, including a Gold Key in photography and recognition for critical writing. He is also a founding member of Tehachapi Rock Academy, where he studied keyboard and music composition, and he works as a senior editor on his high school yearbook.

At Valley Oaks, Warren has been active in the Interact Club, serving as secretary and helping organize community service activities, including a College and Career Fair for students across the community. He has also mentored younger students through the First Lego League Robotics programs, helping them learn programming and engineering skills.

Warren’s curiosity also extends to language and culture. He currently studies Russian through the STARTALK language immersion program and recently earned a gold medal in the national ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian competition.

Outside of academics, Warren enjoys running, rock climbing, coding personal projects, and reading about mathematics, philosophy, and technology.

After graduation, Warren will attend Stanford University. He intends to study Symbolic Systems, an interdisciplinary major combining neuroscience, philosophy, natural language, mathematics, and computer science with a focus on artificial intelligence. He hopes to contribute to research that helps ensure advanced technologies are developed responsibly.

“I want to be there when major breakthroughs in AI happen,” Warren said. “I hope to help research ways to guide the development of AI so that it benefits humanity and reduces potential risks for future generations.”

With his curiosity, work ethic, and passion for learning, Warren Woolf represents the very best of Valley Oaks Charter School, and his teachers and classmates look forward to seeing the impact he will make in the years ahead.

PHOTO CREDIT: Liberty Shaub